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Last week I wrote about the business of publishing, thinking about why it makes sense for publishers to move to an electronic format.

This time, I've been thinking about the consumer's point of view.

Depending on how you look at it, I'm either an e-book pioneer or a complete n00b.

I downloaded my first two e-books in 2000 - Stephen King's Riding the Bullet short story, followed by his (still incomplete) serial novel The Plant. In 2004, I downloaded Matthew Reilly's free serial novel Hover Car Racer.

But I read them sitting at my desk, on a PC, looking at a 15" monitor. I even printed out The Plant and still have it sitting in a manila folder on a shelf! Not exactly portable reading!

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I used to want to be a published writer, in the traditional sense, i.e. to sell my stories to a publishing company, who would then print them out and sell them in bookstores. Y'know, a real writer.

I'd thought about putting something on the web, or an e-book, something that used 21st century technology…

...but the joke was on me. I was thinking about that as a way to get the attention of someone who would print my books the old fashioned way.

Then I read an excellent dialog by Barry Eisler and J.A. Konrath about e-publishing. I like Barry Eisler, I've read his (actual, physical, formerly dead tree) books, so the fact that he was moving to (self) e-publishing gave me pause for thought.

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In 2012, I'm going to publish two e-books: a murder mystery novella in June and a full-length action novel in December.

They're both thrillers with a tech edge.

This website and blog is an avenue to promote my stories but it's more than that - it's a place to share some of my thinking about writing and why I'm publishing this way. I'll review some of the books I like to read and films I like to watch, but with a writer's eye - not just looking at the stories, but giving my observations of how the creators have told them.